Does the thought of having to do a math problem leave your stomach in knots? You’re in good company, according to a new study that finds 64% of Americans experience “math anxiety.” And 13% rate their symptoms as severe. The thing is, it doesn’t end when they graduate and can create barriers in life long after they’re out of school.
The research from Prodigy Education reveals:
- Middle school is the most common time people start to feel math anxiety (34%), followed by high school (31%) and elementary school (23%).
- Women tend to get math anxiety more than men, 70% compared to 57%.
- So, what triggers these math fears? Being afraid of failing is the top cause (53%), followed by not understanding the math concepts (48%), struggling with basic calculations (46%) and teaching methods that don’t match learning styles (45%).
- Nearly half of Americans (47%) admit that math anxiety has held them back at work or school.
- More than a third (37%) say it interferes with their ability to make smart financial decisions, including basic tasks like budgeting and investing.
- Another 20% have lost out on job opportunities because they were too anxious about math.
- For parents with math anxiety, having kids who need help with math homework is challenging. A quarter of them feel unprepared to help and one in 10 get anxious when their child asks for math help.
- But these moms and dads find creative solutions, like trying to help despite their anxiety (51%), calling in another family member (47%), using apps or specialized math tools (35%) and directing kids to online resources (32%).
- Overall, 40% of Americans turn to YouTube when they hit a math wall, while others use AI tools like ChatGPT (28%), apps (28%) and tutoring (28%).
- The math skills people find most helpful in day-to-day life include basic arithmetic (76%), percentages (69%) and fractions (55%).
- If they could create new math courses to ease anxiety, people would focus on practical skills like financial literacy (79%), taxes and money management (76%) and everyday data analysis (54%).
Source: Study Finds